Hamas official says new charter will tone down antisemitic language

A senior Hamas official on Wednesday said that the Palestinian terrorist organization is set to release a new charter that addresses the antisemitic language contained in the group’s original mission statement.

Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that Hamas will be publishing its new charter “very soon,” and that the language in the document is careful not to castigate anyone based on “religion” or “race.”

“We will have a clear political document, which is supposed to be in the near future, clarifying all those points,” Hamdan told UpFront host Mehdi Hasan.

“You will find in this document clear words that we [are] against the Zionists, against the occupation of our lands and we will resist the occupiers, whoever they were,” he added.

Pressed on a time frame for the release of the revised charter, Hamdan did not specify a date.

Hamas’s original 1988 charter includes numerous antisemitic statements, including claims of Jewish world domination. The text also utilizes Islamic scripture to provide justification for killing Jews around the world.

The Hamas official was also asked if the new charter would be more amenable to a two-state solution with Israel. Hamdan replied that this “would be inaccurate.” He added, however: “We want to build a Palestinian state on the lines of the 4th of June ’67, including Jerusalem, with the right of return for Palestinians.”

Asked if he believes if suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians were justified, Hamdan appeared to defend the terrorist tactic, drawing a parallel with Israeli rockets hitting residential areas in the Gaza Strip.

“What’s the problem in that: the bombs or the suicide actions?” he asked.

“As Palestinians we don’t have... tanks... so we use what we have,” he added.

Hamdan was asked to address reports that the Trump administration is planning to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and if that would usher in a new wave of violence.

“I don’t accept the idea of having violence from the Palestinian side,” he said.

“Now if there were changes or the United States administration tries to make a change in the status of Jerusalem, of course that will mean an action from the Palestinian side, and no one can control that,” he added.

Hamdan also addressed recent reports claiming that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are close to signing a reconciliation deal, something he endorsed as the right direction forward for the two organizations.

“We need... a national unity government,” he said. “Israelis are now taking over the land through the settlements. The region is unstable.

“The international community is not willing to help the Palestinians unless they are united,” Hamadan said.